BMW Car Club - Scotland
Harry Fairbairn (Irvine) new showroom launch - 24th & 25th March 2012
Something I have been trying to arrange for quite a while but with little success was for the Scottish Region to be involved in an event at a local dealership. So imagine my surprise when last month I received an email from Euan Henry, a Sales Executive at the Harry Fairbairns BMW dealership. He was inviting the Scottish Region to the relaunch event of their new showroom facility in Irvine Ayrshire.
The facility has a long history in Ayrshire. Harry Fairbairn as an individual started repairing push bikes at an Irvine harbour facility. He then moved to repairing and selling motorcycles by obtaining the Honda Motorcycle Franchise. In conjunction with this he started repairing and selling used cars. He moved into the current Ayr Road site in 1973 with Fiat cars and Honda Motorcycles. The BMW franchise for cars & bikes was then obtained in 1975. Harry Passed away in 1996, when his wife Margaret took over the running of the company. Then In 2001 the new Mini Franchise was obtained. Over the years Harry obtained many dealer of the year accolades in particular for customer satisfaction. In 2006, the business was bought by Arnold Clark Automobiles and since has gone from strength to strength. This year was Harry Fairbairn's 60th anniversary from the opening all those years ago. Many of the original staff from the early days still remain at the Irvine showroom with Robbie Maltby the dealer principle having been with them since 1989.
This year a major investment of £1.5million went into the dealership, bringing them in line with the latest BMW and Mini Corporate Identity. With the investment, the opportunity was taken to invest in the new "M" franchise. The BMW and Mini Showrooms can display over 25 new cars, and well over 100 used cars, with a comprehensive selection of used cars on display at all times. Within the investment they have installed a cafe style coffee bar with Mathew Algie Coffee.
The launch event was scheduled to take part over the weekend of the 24th & 25th March and the Scottish region were delighted to help out.
We were asked to provide an E30 M3 to put on display in the showroom for the entire weekend and I immediately thought of Gary Morgan's stunning M3 Evo. Gary was more than happy to show off his pride and joy, which would take pride of place in the showroom for the weekend. As the car was off the road for the winter it required to be transported down to Irvine and Harry Fairbairn were happy to arrange a transporter to carefully move the car from the safety of its winter abode down to Irvine for the weekend. Under Gary's careful supervision of course!
They also wanted us to provide a varied display of 10 cars which included an impressive selection of the member's cars. On display were the following....E36 318is, 2 E36 M3s, E46 325ci convertible, E46 325 sport, E46 Clubsport, E46 M3 , E46 csl, E39 M5, Z3 2.2 sport and an Alpina B3 convertible. Everyone had prepared their cars to show them off as if they had just come out the showroom. The cars were given a prime spot outside the facility on both days of the launch weekend and were complimented by the stunning weather, with it turning out to be the hottest weekend with temperatures reaching about 20 degrees. The stand gathered allot of interest from visiting customers. Some taking time to talk to us about the cars and the car club which we were more than happy to do.
On display in the showroom along with Gary's E30 were a varied array of new cars including the new M3 and the new F10 M5.
We were made really welcome by Robbie all the staff and they took the time out to show a group of us round the new state of the art workshop, which was really interesting. The technicians were available to answer any questions we had about the well equipped facility.
They had secured a F10 M5 demonstrator which a few of us were fortunate to go out on a test drive. This awesome car was just amazing!
We had a fabulous weekend and there was all the usual fun and laughter which the region is now famous for. They have also extended an open invitation to any BMW Car Club Members visiting Ayrshire to visit and take advantage of the complimentary facilities. So feel free to pop in if you are passing. You will be guaranteed a warm welcome by the team.
Words Issy Phillips and Pictures - Neil Robinson (NeRo)
A few photos from the day ...
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